Because I Said So
by littlefaerychild
Summary: When Elena was little she had a friend who would visit her in the night. His name was Elijah. Rating is for future chapters.


A/N: Okay I REALLY hate this site. Sorry. Minor inannimate object anger is consuming me at the moment. Anyways I already wrote the first few chapters for this story but whether or not they ever get posted half depends on reviews and half depends on my mood the next time I'm online. If you happen to be reading this 5 months into the future and I still haven't updated feel free to message me and I'll send you whatever I've written.

Disclaimer: Since the world happens to be a cruel, cruel place I own nothing but an outdated computer and my own rather deranged imagination.

_This is a place where your mind can escape_  
_All the problems today and go far, far away_  
_This is a time with no history_  
_Welcome to mystery_

When I was little, I was obsessed with Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. I wanted to see them more than anything else in the world. Of course, I was unaware of how difficult a feat that would be when I just so happened to live in Virginia, but if I _had_ known, it probably wouldn't have stopped me. So every night I would stay up as long as I could, fogging up the window panes to try and get a glimpse of the impossible. Granted I was seven so I could never stay up very late to begin with, but I would try. And, no, I never saw the lights - but I would see other things. An owl or raccoon, some little creature that would have me squealing in fear or delight; a group of teens that I longed to grow up and be a part of; argumentative neighbors who thought no one was listening. And then there were the things I couldn't see. The ones I had no physical evidence of but knew with childish certainty were there.

It know it seems strange, but at night, pressed up against the cool glass of the window panes and swaddled in blankets, I felt very grown up. The knowledge that not even my parents were up as late as me, that I was completely alone, should have left me feeling lonely or scared but instead I found myself reveling in the freedom of it all. In a town as small as mine where everyone knew who your ancestors' ancestors were, it was hard to keep a secret. And so I never took for granted the small pocket of the world where I could be myself. But even as I watched the night, I got the feeling the night might be watching me too.

There was never any solid proof to confirm my suspicions but sometimes I would think I'd fallen asleep on the window seat only to wake tucked under the covers or I would lose a favorite toy and find it on my night stand the next morning. At first, I thought it was only my mom coming to check on me in the night but when I asked her she denied any part in it and said I must have fallen asleep in bed or only dreamed I'd lost my things. Finally I decided it must not be my mom and jumped to the next most obvious answer; Casper the Friendly Ghost must have been visiting me! Okay, it was the most logical answer when you're in elementary school anyways. So I made a new routine. Every night when I was too tired to keep my eyes open any longer I would put a gift by my window; an acorn from the neighbor's tree, a pretty stone I'd picked up at the park, maybe a piece of candy. You know, all the things ghosts like. And every morning when I woke up - they were still there.

Eventually, I decided that Casper didn't know they were really for him. So, I got out my favorite glitter gel pens and made a card for him.

_Hello, Mr. Casper the Friendly Ghost, my name is Elena Gilbert. I'm 7 and 1/2 years old, I don't like carrots because they take too long to chew, I love bubblegum ice cream and I'm gonna take care of animals when I grow up. I hope you don't mind me writing to you, I just wanted to thank you for helping me so this is for you._

That night I placed the card underneath an obsidian arrowhead I'd found at the lake last summer. I crawled into bed with my fingers crossed and was quickly carried off to dreamland. When I awoke to find annoyingly chirpy birds and sunshine streaming into the room, I realized that I'd slept in and was going to be late for school. I completely forgot about my gift for Casper. Half-way through the day I remembered and found myself more nervous than I'd been since that disastrous ballet recital in third grade. I rushed out the doors when the bell rang and ran to my mom's BMW. She laughed at my eagerness and kissed my head. The drive home felt far longer than it should have and I sprung out of the car the second we touched the driveway. Rushing to my room, I managed to trip twice and skin both my knees and elbows. I hardly noticed as I raced to the window and gasped at what I saw. There, in the place of Casper's gift were a dozen white roses and a single slip of paper.

_It is a rare thing to find kindness in this world such as yours and so I'd like to thank you for your gift with one of my own. I hope you won't be too disappointed though, to find that my name is not Casper but in fact Elijah. I would enjoy hearing from you again Miss Elena Gilbert._

And he did hear from me again. I wrote him every day and he wrote back until one day he didn't reply. I was so sad I barely ate anything all day. When I woke up the next morning and saw he still hadn't replied I thought about putting up signs, but "LOST GHOSTLY PAL, IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN" was unlikely to get me anywhere. So I looked for him myself. But he was gone without a trace and after a while, I forgot him. He was nothing more than a foggy memory. And life went on.

A/N: My pet dinosaur is very hungry and will only consume telephone repairmen or reviews. So for the sake of telephone repairmen everywhere; please review.


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